Destiny
by Lilly Emerald
Summary: Castiel asks Buffy for a favour, but will the slayer agree to help him and Dean and Sam? Buffy/Dean. SPOILERS!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Destiny

Pairing: Buffy/Dean

Summary: Castiel asks Buffy for a favour but will the slayer agree to help? This is a Buffy/Supernatural crossover. I'm going with the fact that Buffy started in 1997 and finished in 2004. Buffy was 16 when the show started and when it ended she was 22. In season 2 of supernatural it was 2007, so in season 4 of supernatural when this story is set it is 2008/2009. So that would make it 5 years since Buffy ended and she would be 27. I'm not following anything in the Buffy/Angel comic books just going by some spoilers in series 5 of Angel, episode Damage where Andrew comes to help Angel and tells him what everyone has been up to. Anyway, just getting some things clear in my head. So spoilers for season 7 Buffy and season 5 of Angel and then there are things that I've made up of course. Anyway, on with the story, really hope you enjoy it and please review to let me know if I should continue it or not!

Chapter One

Buffy Anne Summers sat on the balcony of her apartment and was appreciating the great view of the city of Rome. Actually, great view was an understatement. Fantastic view? Brilliant view? No words seemed to sum it up well enough.

Her golden blond hair blew in the slight breeze. It was long again just below her shoulders, nearing her elbows and it had natural lighter blond highlights from the Italian sun. And she had a great tan that was free...she loved this country that was known for its pizza and pasta and it's amazing history and the fashion over here...not that she cared about history. That was what Giles was for...nope, she wasn't thinking about Giles or any of her friends, especially not her sister, Dawn.

Anyway at last she could be the care free girl she had always wanted to be, to have no troubles just like a normal person. The only troubles she had to worry about was what she was going to wear today, if she was going to get any hassle at work or what party she would get invited to or if she would ever meet anyone special. Just like any other girl.

She didn't technically need to work of course, not with the money she received from Giles every month, but she couldn't be lazy all the time could she? She had managed to land herself a very good job in a fashion store in the local high street. It certainly wouldn't cover the rent of an apartment like this...or buy one. But if she was going to follow through on her plan she could probably share an apartment with someone...maybe find a cheaper one in a cheaper area.

This was thinking about them all again. And maybe she should. She couldn't be denial girl anymore either

Giles had been her watcher, her mentor and her guardian. More of a father then her absent real father had been. And now he was like a stranger to her. They all were. Her best friends Willow and Xander, she hadn't spoken to them in years. Faith...could be anywhere for all she knew. So could the other slayer's who had fought with her in the final battle of Sunnydale. Last she heard they were all in Cleveland guarding a new Hellmouth that had opened.

And Sunnydale...the place she had come to think of as home after moving there with her mother from LA all those years ago...she hadn't seen that place in five years. It was amazing how time could fly when you're having fun, she thought, feeling sad now.

After the battle with the First Evil, Sunnydale had blown literally off the face of the earth leaving behind a big crater that the journalists and the press had all said was a big meteor hitting the earth that no one could see coming. It still amazed her how the human world could just see what they wanted. When something supernatural happened right in front of their eyes they blocked it out or made up something else and that's what they believed.

The first year had gone quickly. Their first stop had been LA and to the local hospital. Although some of the slayers left had healing powers, Robin Wood and Xander and Willow had needed seeing to, and so had Giles. Not one of them had escaped without a scratch or two, pretty deep scratches that needed stitches at least. They had nowhere in the world now to call their own so they had stopped in at the Hyperion Hotel to ask Angel for help, only to find he was the new CEO of Wolfram and Hart, working from the inside out to defeat them. She had told him good luck with that one and he had offered her the Hyperion to stay in until they all recovered.

It wasn't long before that happened and they were all on the move again. Xander had seemed distant since Sunnydale, of course he had every right to be after the death of his on/off girlfriend Anya. He disappeared off into the night and the next they heard he was somewhere in Africa looking for Slayers. And then Willow and Kennedy had gone off on their own search and last she heard they were in Brazil.

And then Giles had told her he was planning on rebuilding the Watcher's council in London. With a better, much more secret location and lots of defensive spells put up in case of another evil attack. The last council had been blown up by minions of The First. She and Dawn had gone with him and he had found that the treasure hidden underneath the original watchers council sight had still been there in vaults hidden deep underground and that was how come she could now afford a nice apartment in Rome.

And this brought her nicely back to the reason there was such a rift between her and her so called family. She had stayed with Giles for a while, watching him rebuild and bring in the watchers that had gone into hiding and bringing in slayers for training. He had assured her it would be nothing like the last watcher's council, one she had despised because of their way of running things and turned her back on. But she hadn't been able to stay there. She had felt the urge to be on the move and Dawn had come with her hoping to mend the distance between them. So Dawn had stayed with her the first year in Rome but things just hadn't been right and in the end she had gone back to England to finish her schooling and now she heard Dawn was in training to be a watcher.

And now she was left on her own thinking about it all and driving herself crazy. She wouldn't be surprised if she had more nightmares.

Before the final battle, her friends had turned against her, feeling that she had lost her ability to lead them and they had turned to Faith, of all people, to lead them instead. Faith, who had once been an evil bitch who went around killing all her friends or anyone who had stood in her path to get what she wanted, because she couldn't handle the reality of life.

Faith, who had suddenly had an epiphany and turned herself in and was suddenly one of the good guys again. Faith, who was as unreliable as anyone could get. They had turned to her and thrown her out of her own home after all that she had done for them.

Amazingly Spike, former William the bloody had been the only one to stick up for her. She had left them, and of course things had gone wrong with Faith in charge and she had had to save them. And of course she had saved them. She had also gone back and lead them into battle and victory because they where family and that's what family did. But that didn't mean things had been ok.

That's why they had all left each other without so much as a goodbye, all knowing what they had to do and just getting on with it.

And then, a year later, she had found out that Giles had kept from her the fact that Angel had called asking for her and Willow's help in his latest apocalypse that had nearly killed him. She had blown up at Giles and said some unforgivable things to him as had he to her and she had gone off back to LA, calling on Faith and Willow, hoping that they would help her as she had helped them. They had come of course, with several other slayers and they had fought back Wolfram and harts Army, arriving just on time.

The law firm had rebuilt of course, you could never truly destroy them. But they were less powerful then before and Willow had bound their army to hell and they wouldn't be breaking out again anytime soon.

Of course after the battle was over, she had learned that Wesley, Cordelia, and Fred had all been killed and she could have maybe prevented some of their deaths or Willow could have, if only she had heard about it all sooner. Gunn was nearing death himself. She had yelled at Andrew over the phone for several hours about the fact that he had told Angel she hadn't trusted him and they weren't on the same side. She hated it when people lied.

And spike was alive and he hadn't told her. He had been alive for a whole year and he hadn't told her.

Those facts had made her blow up at her friends, saying things she had never had the courage to say before and then she had fled back to England. And then she and Dawn had somehow ended up out here looking for slayers.

She liked it here, where she could hide from her problems, but then didn't that make her just like Faith? Of course she wasn't killing anyone but she wasn't facing reality was she? Shouldn't she go back and resolve everything somehow with all of them, after all these years? She just couldn't face it.

Sighing she looked down at her nails, prettily painted in light pink nail varnish and wondered if she went back, how long they would stay like that.

She stood up abruptly. She needed...something to take her mind off of all of this. A walk, a run...maybe she should go to the gym...it wasn't working. The gym brought back memories that everything she had here wasn't hers. That she was relying on Giles for money and she didn't want that. Her plan had been to go back and break away from any ties she had and make it on her own, to not have any more money given to her out of guilt. That was what she couldn't face.

Walking back into the main room of her home she had the sudden urge to call Willow and talk about things for hours like they used to, no matter what the phone bill was. But she was interrupted and kind of rudely interrupted by a stranger standing in front of her. There had been no warning and she could usually sense when evil was nearby. Part of the slayer package. She also had super strength and special healing powers.

"Who are you?" her voice was firm and cold, no room for argument. If he didn't give her the right answers she would kill him. "How the hell did you get in here?"

There was no response from the stranger. Not an evil smile or the usual laughter that followed. There wasn't anything.

"My name is Castiel," he told her simply. "I am an Angel and I need your help."

She blinked in surprise not expecting that answer at all. And now she was way out of her depth and she hated that.

" Angel? As in you come from on high sent from God? What do I look like a ten year old? That isn't gonna work on me. For all I know you're an evil prankster trying to lure me into a trap and whatever you have planned it won't work."

"I assure you I'm not tricking you in anyway. But this is what you have been looking for isn't it Buffy? A new start in your life. Something to give your life meaning."

"How do you know all of this?" She whispered eyes wide in shock.

"Angels know these things. Please just listen to me. Better yet, let me show you."

Again without warning, Buffy felt Castiel reach for her hand and there was a flash of pure white light. Then she stood in a bedroom. She watched the events unfolding in bewilderment. A woman was being set on fire by some Demon. A man was yelling at his eldest son, Dean, to take his brother outside and run as fast as he could. Then she was outside watching with the family, as the house burned and their loved one burned with it.

After that there where images of the boys growing up with their father, training to be hunters.

Their struggle so far in the fight against the evil Demon Azazel and Lilith.

The images flashed by so quickly some of them she nearly missed because of blinking. But she got the general idea.

Soon they were back in present day and she took a deep breath trying to calm down.

"So who are they fighting now?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Dean and Sam."

"Lucifer," Castiel answered calmly.

"I so wish you hadn't said that!" Buffy told him in shock.

Castiel almost smiled. "Remember, Buffy it's your choice. You can say no. But remember you wanted an escape from your worries earlier. You may want a normal life you're leading now but you never really will be a normal girl and you know that deep down. "

"Ok, fine. Guilt trip me into it why don't you."

She sighed. He knew what her answer was going to be she could tell. "But what about my friends and Dawn..."

He hesitated. "I'm afraid there is a catch..."

"Isn't there always?" It was her turn to interrupt now.

"And that's the catch. You can't see or talk to your friends. At least not yet. Maybe I can somehow send them a message, but Lucifer cannot know of your true identity until the last possible minute. So I will have to strip you of some of your powers."

"Excuse me? I don't think so."

"You have to appear as a normal human. So you will still have super strength to help in fights, but you won't be able to heal as quickly as you are used to, so you will have to be careful. Sam and Dean can't know your true identity either. It's safer that way."

Buffy hesitated only a moment. She would still get to keep her strength, she was sure she could live with the rest.

"Ok, let's go!"

Castiel inwardly sighed in relief, glad that she had accepted his terms. Now Dean wouldn't have any idea that he had any involvement in this at all and when he eventually did find out that she was a slayer, as he was sure the boys would find out, he was hoping Buffy would keep some of her word and not tell them about him. And if no one on earth new that he was trying to help the brothers more then he should, maybe no one in heaven would find out either.

But then his relief faded as they started to make the journey to where the Winchesters were on their latest hunt. Since when did anything go to plan?

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Travelling Angel style was something Buffy could safely say she never wanted to experience ever again.

She felt dizzy and sick and she had had a nose bleed, something she hadn't had since she was a kid. It was very much like being car sick or something and she didn't like it one bit. Although flight Castiel could guarantee you that you wouldn't crash, she would much prefer to put up with the ear popping and horrible food, bad movies and the fact that even in first class there was the inevitable fact that there would be a screaming baby somewhere preventing you from sleeping. She would have preferred all of that.

She would even have preferred to crash as long as she and the rest of the passengers and crew didn't die and she ended up on a desert island with Mathew Fox and Josh Holloway running around everywhere doing all the saving people hero thing instead of her.

But here she was puking up on the side of the road feeling like she just wanted to sleep for a week.

"I'm sorry," said Castiel. "I should have warned you about the side effects. If you weren't the slayer I couldn't have even tried to teleport you but...it seems you are still vulnerable to some things."

"Of course I am," she spat out when she could finally stand up. "I'm not a different species you know. Stop treating me like some rat in a lab that is having experiments done to it day and night."

Castiel had a wounded look in his eyes that made her instantly regret her harsh words.

"Ok look. I want to trust you I really do. But so much has happened to me you can understand why I have issues in that area. Just try and tell me everything that you can. I guess some things are...classified information?"

"Some things are."

"So, they can't know that I'm a slayer. That I'm kind of like their Guardian Angel. So that means that I'm a..."

"A Hunter," Castiel answered for her.

"Right. And I hunt..."

"You hunt anything supernatural, which you are used to. Some things you won't be though. They have encountered a different type of vampire you are not used to. They can walk in the day as long as not in direct sunlight. This harms them but doesn't kill them. Only decapitation can kill them."

Castiel continued to fill her in on all the little things about Sam and Dean's life, but she noticed he didn't fill her in on anything personal. She knew the main family history of course. But she didn't know the things that made them Dean and Sam. What made them laugh, what music they liked. What made them brothers. What they argued about. Castiel thought that would be too obvious and she agreed.

"If I'm a hunter at least I can fight in front of them,"

"But no showing off," Castiel interrupted.

"I just need to run into them now. So...demons, exorcism...wait does this mean I have to learn Latin? I thought school was over!"

Castiel sighed impatiently.

"Hey I saw that mister," Buffy frowned. "You're mocking me. You were going to roll your eyes or something. Angels are not supposed to mock. At least I knew that exorcisms are performed in Latin. I listened to Giles some times." She went quiet at the mention of her former watcher.

"No," he smiled, his expression softening. "But we do judge people and smite them down if we have to. And since Dean has been casting doubt in my mind about..." he stopped having gone too far. "Well, I'll leave the smiting to you. But I can judge that you are perfect for this Buffy. I know you won't let me down."

"There's the guilt thing again." Buffy muttered. "So where exactly am I?" She asked curiously, looking around her for the first time.

"You're in a small town called Concrete in Washington," he answered, but secretly he was lost in thought. Their orders where to follow whatever Dean Winchester asked of them, but this was...insane was the right word he was looking for.

Dean had made a small prayer. Maybe he hadn't even realised what he'd done. He had asked God for a little bit of luck sent to him and Sam. A little bit of help. So Castiel had gone against all of heavens orders...or what would have been their orders if they found out what he'd done. And he'd called in the slayer. It was the biggest act of rebellion he could have thought of and Uriel would be pissed beyond belief when he found out. But he wasn't going to find out, no one was.

"Seriously? What kind of a name is Concrete for a place to live anyway?" Buffy muttered. "And we're here because?"

"Sam and Dean are here on a hunt. They were following a lead that most people wouldn't have thought twice to look at. And they're about to learn a valuable life lesson."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "You're a fortune teller now?"

"I know some future events. I'm an Angel. But they are about to learn that wishing doesn't always get you what you want."

Then he disappeared and she was left on her own, far away from anything that was familiar. Wishes? She thought.

What would she wish for if she had the chance. World peace? Well...family peace anyway. Her mother to still be alive. It was a scary thought if wishes could actually come true. But he couldn't have been serious could he?

She scanned the area and went into a local restaurant hoping that she would get lucky and ask if anyone had seen Sam and Dean by their appearances. That damn angel hadn't given her very much to go on.

Luck seemed to be on her side. Because there was a couple who were busily making out without a care in the world and there, looking like he was interviewing the poor woman opposite him, was Sam. Thank God, now she could follow them easily and find the perfect place to introduce herself.

From what she could overhear, Sam was talking to a woman who anyone else would have thought needed serious help. A ghost? Who kept saying please don't tell my mum? Please, sounded like invisible person to her and she had experience with invisible people. Well, an invisible girl. Was this a Marcy deal? Someone went invisible because they were being ignored? But then what about wishes?

She followed Sam outside where he went to meet up with Dean. Someone had won the lottery...she wished! And now it looked like two men were arguing about a bear? Here was her opportunity.

Sam and Dean where approaching the two men so she had to work fast.

"Trust me," she said making the two men jump in surprise. "There's no such thing as a big foot."

"And you are?" Sam asked her curiously, holding up his very fake FBI badge to the two men.

"Buffy Summers," she answered as politely as she could. "Tell you what," she turned to the men beside her. "How about I go up and take a look at the tracks and see if it's a bear or a legend? I'm not calling you crazy. But I just need to see for myself. If it's a big foot it concerns the whole town right?" She couldn't believe she had said that with a straight face.

Dean and Sam looked at each other in bewilderment.

As they walked away Dean grabbed her arm in order to slow her down. "Wait a minute. Who the hell are you?"

"What makes you think I don't live here? And I wouldn't be grabbing my arm anytime soon unless you want a black eye."

Although as far as she was concerned Dean could touch her anywhere he wanted, but she wasn't going to admit that was she?

"I just have a feeling," Dean muttered. "You act like you're a..."

"A Hunter?" She smiled at their looks of shock. "Well I am. I'm here the same as you and I say this case is mine since I got here first. Go find a town of your own."

"Well, we're here now, that's not how this works. And no offence most hunters wouldn't have thought about a case like this," Sam told her.

"What the hell is that?" Buffy had almost walked over the giant bear print in front of her. Only it couldn't possibly be a normal bear.

"Werewolf?" She asked them.

Sam shook his head. "Not even closely that big."

"But it can't really be big foot...can it?"

They followed the footprints to the local shop and Buffy stared in wonder as the prints went inside. Everything was smashed up and alcohol had been stolen, and bottles smashed and some opened like they had been drunk from.

They went outside, Sam and Dean sitting down and Buffy standing. "Well, I got nothing," said Dean after a few seconds of stunned silence.

"It's got to be a joke right?" said Sam.

A girl on a bicycle rode past them then, a magazine falling out of her basket. Dean went to pick it up and Buffy's eyes widened. "She's a bit young isn't she?"

Dean nodded.

They followed the girl to a house and all looked at each other.

"Anytime you want to back down you can say so," Dean told her.

"Not a chance. It can't be that strange right? I'm sure we've all seen everything by now."

"Well that's jinxed it," Sam muttered as they knocked on the door. A little girl answered and Sam and Dean held up their badges. Buffy had to fight to roll her eyes. People actually believed they were FBI agents?

A little girl answered and it turned out her parents weren't home, which Buffy gave a silent sigh of relief. That would make things so much easier.

"We were just wondering if you'd seen a really big, fluffy...bear."

Buffy had to stifle laughter.

"Is he in trouble?" the girl asked instantly. Buffy's eyes widened. No way was she serious.

What followed had to be the strangest experience of her life. A talking teddy bear that liked porn and alcohol? It would scare her off cute cuddly toys for life. And something about a wishing well.

They went back to the restaurant she had been in earlier and all looked down at the well in astonishment. "Think it works?" Buffy asked.

"One way we can find out." Dean threw in a coin.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Buffy murmured. "Wishes tend to turn out bad."

Next thing she knew, they were sitting at a table with Dean eating a very specific pizza and her stealing slices, him giving her an evil look every time she did it.

"So what are we meant to do, stop people's wishes from coming true?" Dean asked them. "Seems like a pretty crappy thing to do."

"You know these things come at a price," said Sam with a shrug.

"Well, we're going to need to look at the well," said Buffy."Any bright ideas?"

After convincing the owner they where health inspectors they empted the well and looked at the coins. One coin wouldn't move when they tried. They even tried smashing it out. Nothing.

"The coins magical," Sam said, shocked. "It must be protecting the well."

"I'll say," Dean answered, just as shocked.

They made a copy of the coin, placing a piece of paper over it and rubbing it with a pencil.

"You have to look into that," Sam stood up to leave. "Something just occurred to me."

"He does that a lot?" asked Buffy as they walked outside. "Take off and leave?"

"I'm sure it's important. He hasn't gone far"

"You know this case is definitely something I've needed," Buffy murmured quietly to herself.

Dean decided he didn't really want to know what she meant by that.

What followed was they discovered the coin had been made by some ancient priestess and had enchanted the wishing well when it had been thrown in, the wishes eventually going bad. They had to convince the person who threw in the coin to undo his wish. Not an easy task to do when he had wished for true love.

When everything was back to normal Buffy was glad. She hadn't wanted to see a town blown off the map because of the chaos of wishes.

"So what now?" asked Sam, turning to face her.

"Well, you know what they say," she said with a shrug. "This town isn't big enough for the both of us right? Guess I make my own way."

She had a plan. She was sure they wouldn't trust her yet even after she had helped them with the case. How she was going to make her own way without a car though she didn't really know. Maybe Castiel could lend her that teleporting power he had. It would be useful.

This wasn't going to be easy. After overhearing Sam talking to Dean about his time in hell she could tell it would be a long time before either of them trusted her if they couldn't even trust each other.

"Although a lift would be a good thing," she added. "That's a nice ride you boys have got."

"It's my ride. And I'm not sure an impala's big enough for three," Dean looked a bit put out and she couldn't really blame him.

They both turned around to start walking back to the car, but when they turned round to look for Buffy, she had disappeared.

"That was rude," said Sam looking around. "You think she's ok?"

"I'm sure she can handle herself, Sam. She seems pretty tough," Dean answered his brother. "I'm sure we'll be seeing her again."

The slayer had left a lasting impression on them both with her sarcastic banter and her beauty and her fighting skills, even against humans possessed by wishes had been enough to secretly impress them. Dean knew she had been holding back and if they had been up against something more then he couldn't wait to see what she was capable of.

...

"Would you please warn me when you're going to do that?" Buffy was shouting at Castiel, even though she knew he must have had a good reason for pulling her away. "Don't you think that's a little bit suspect me just vanishing like that?"

"Buffy you need to calm down," said Castiel. "What the brother's are going to go through next you can't be a part of. You can't have anything to do with the other angels..."

"Because you don't want to get in trouble." She nodded. "I get that I really do. But maybe this isn't such a good idea. If what's coming up is so bad I should be there to help them..."

"I need your help somewhere else," Castiel told her.

" Lillith is planning to open another one of the 66 seals she needs to open to free Lucifer and I need you to stop her, if the brothers can't."

"Oh great," she muttered. "Now you tell me."

**TBC.**

**Don't worry, I won't be following the episodes as closely as that each chapter but that was just to introduce her to the brothers. And Castiel doesn't know about everything that is going to happen of course but he does know about Anna. Next chapter...will they meet up again? Will Buffy disobey Castiel and help the brothers protect Anna and blow his cover or will she end up getting in trouble with Lilith? Hopefully have another update by next weekend, depending on work. Hopefully sooner. And pretty please review to let me know what you think they inspire me to write more lol. **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The Church was alone outside a small village. It was an impressive building, with a tall spire and the cemetery around it was something she really didn't want to walk through. She didn't even know where she was, what state or even if she was still in America. It looked old to Buffy, old and very creepy. It was getting dark now and starting to rain with what she thought was perfect timing. Next thing you knew, it would be thunder and lightning and hailstones.

She whirled round on Castiel, thinking that she must be getting used to this teleporting thing because she didn't feel as dizzy as last time and there was no nose bleed.

"Ok, first of all don't you ever do that to me again," she said surprised to see that her voice wasn't a yell but calm and actually steady. "Second of all, you warn me when you're going to pull that shit again. You warn me when you're going to pull me away from the people you asked me to help. And you warn me when you want me to do something for you. You ask me. You don't just tell me oh you have to do this because I say so. Got that?"

There was a silence. "I just...this could be a test for you as a hunter. To see what you're capable of..."

"You know what I'm capable of otherwise you wouldn't have wanted to bring me into this at all. I don't want to be shouting at you I don't like my voice like this. But don't you understand? I spent years being used by the old Watcher's Council as part of the tests and rules and regulations. They didn't see me as someone helping them in a fight against evil they saw me as a weapon they could use. And I don't ever want to feel that way again!"

Castiel nodded. "I understand."

She turned round to look at the church and the rain was getting harder now.

"So, what's inside this place that's so important?"

"A priest has turned against God," Castiel said gravely. "He prays to and worships Lilith and she has asked him to commit the final blasphemy against God and he is planning to kill a girl he has inside the church. A girl who is a messenger of God. She has visions. If he succeeds in killing her then he breaks another Seal."

"If I do this," said Buffy. "You agree to accept what I said before?"

"I agree," Castiel nodded.

"And you'll go easier on the Winchesters? If you're like this with me then who knows what you're like with them?"

"I'll think about it," he answered her

"That's a start..." But he was gone leaving her alone again. After this she was seriously going to buy a car. She had to be able to make her own way and not to depend on Angels. Who knew if Castiel would come back to get her? She just had a feeling that he would and she couldn't always rely on that.

It was then she realised that she was on what looked like the set of a horror movie with no weapons. Well she guessed she had faced worse. She walked round the church looking for a back entrance but the only other door she found was locked, so that meant that it was the front entrance or nothing. She didn't like it, too obvious for one thing. But she wanted to get this over with so that she could get back to Sam and Dean.

When she walked in she instantly looked at her new surroundings, figuring out the strengths and weaknesses. Standard church decor. Large stain glass windows and candles everywhere and an alter that was supposed to be used for services on a Sunday, looked like it was set up for a ritual sacrifice.

If she didn't know any better she would have said that this church was no longer in use, but she did know better. She instantly saw the young girl who was slumped in front of the alter on the floor, bound and gagged. She looked like she had been drugged, she was pretty out of it. The priest stood at her side a knife held in position to strike and draw blood.

Buffy wasted no time. She rushed in without a thought to her own safety. This would be easy. Castiel hadn't said anything about this person being possessed by a demon. Although she couldn't kill a human she could hurt one bad and make them wish they were dead.

She ran at the man, aware of the knife in his hand and counting on the element of surprise. She raised her leg and knocked the knife out of his hand and was instantly ready with a punch in his face. What she hadn't counted on was his strength. He recovered quickly from the punch and managed to get a few punches at her face. The first struck her hard and the second she blocked, aware that she didn't have any healing powers and that she would probably have some nasty bruises tomorrow.

"Time for you to be knocked out Caleb wannabe," she muttered. This guy hadn't even said one word but she could tell that he was like Caleb, the crazy priest who had worshiped the First Evil and helped it to kill new slayers arriving in Sunnydale. What was it with religious types turning to the dark side?

As she was hitting him a thought suddenly occurred to her that this so called mission was slightly too easy. In fact it was kind of child's play. Castiel could have handled this himself, he surely hadn't needed her help at all?

A sudden sharp bolt of pain rushed though her, knocking her off guard and making her double over. A scream of shock escaped her lips. Dean and Sam were in trouble. Big time trouble. They were getting their asses kicked badly by some crazy demon named Alastair. It wasn't a vision, but she could feel their pain and every movement they made was suddenly painfully clear. What was happening to her? Why was she feeling this and why did she know these things?

They had been helping someone called Anna who could hear angels talking and something about a demon called Ruby. Oh what a big mess they were both in! And then they were jumping through a window...and suddenly she could see a knife almost stabbing her in the eye. He had gotten hold of it again and she reacted on instinct and managed to grab hold of the man's wrist and stop the knife in its tracks.

"You can't get me that easy," she told him, snapping his wrist and breaking it, the knife falling to the floor again. "Because in the grand scheme of things you are nothing."

This time when she hit him he fell to the floor and didn't get up again. "And it seems I'm nothing either." Because this, whatever else it was, had been a cleverly thought of distraction and she'd fallen for it.

She turned to the girl who was crying and shaking and untied her and removed the gag from her mouth. "It's ok," she murmured softly. "Everything will be ok."

At least she had saved the girl but that didn't dispel the horrible feeling she had that she had been played.

"Castiel!" She called out.

And then there he was and it was definitely perfect timing then that there was a crash of thunder.

"You saved the day," he told her. "I knew that you would. The girl will be safe now. I'm sorry about what I have to do next, it is only for a little while. There is important business that I have to take care of with Sam and Dean that you can't be apart of yet. It involves other Angels and they can't know about you."

He took her hand and there was a flash of white light. She found herself in a room that was suitable for all purposes. There was a fridge that when she opened it was stocked with food and drink. There was a chair to sit in, books to read lined up on a shelf and even a TV. It looked like a hotel room.

"Where am I?" she asked wearily. "You know when I agreed to this I didn't expect you to hold me prisoner."

"It's a safe house. You won't be here for long but if I take you with me Uriel will know what I've done. Please Buffy, please understand me. This is just until I sort this whole mess out."

"We are going to have to come clean eventually you know," she told him impatiently.

He nodded.

"I haven't even worked with them properly yet. Haven't even got too know them. But already this is harder then you let on and I don't think..."

He had vanished again before she had even finished her sentence. "Damn Angels!"

She had too many thoughts and questions on her mind to be able to sit still confined like this, not able to do anything. But it looked like she would have to do just that. Although he had said she wouldn't have to wait long there was nothing that Castiel had done so far that said she could trust him. Why had she even agreed to this in the first place?

That was the first thing she had to think about. Why had she agreed? She sat down in the chair feeling defeated. She had agreed to help Sam and Dean because she felt sorry for them and what they had been through and she genuinely wanted to help them. But she had a feeling that this had something to do with Dean more then Sam. She felt drawn to the older brother. It wasn't something she thought she was ready for yet, not something she had been looking for but whatever this connection she had with them, she was sure it was something to do with Dean.

And what had that been back at the church? She had some slayer prophetic dreams but that...it definitely hadn't been a vision. She wasn't Cordelia. But she had felt absolutely everything that Sam and Dean...no, that Dean had been feeling and that was how she had known what was going on. But how? What had Castiel done to her? Did he even know he'd done it? This was what she needed Willow for.

She had to get out of here. But she had a feeling that the door that was her only exit was locked, so just how she was going to get out of there, she had no idea...

**TBC**

**That all for now because I have a horrible cold and can't really write anymore I'm afraid. Hope that was a good idea for a seal, because I had the idea for what Buffy was going to do but the idea for what the seal was going to be was last minute. I shouldn't admit that should I? Oh well. Hopefully next chapter will be longer. Thank you for all your reviews...keep them coming lol. I like to know what people think.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Buffy sat flicking through channels on the TV, her mind slowly turning to mush from all the reality crap that was on at the moment. She had luckily found some food in the cupboards and the fridge her meal consisting of crisps and ice cream.

How long would Castiel be gone? This was is. The final straw. She would never allow this to happen again and when he got back she would be shouting at him again. He had lied to her. Angel's weren't supposed to lie. And how exactly could she stop him? He could do anything he wanted, kidnap her anytime he wanted. She may be a slayer but she couldn't stop Angel magic. So this led to another question that entered her thoughts. How was she supposed to stop Lucifer if she couldn't stop Angel's from messing with her? How had she managed to get herself mixed up in this?

The door swung open. She glanced up briefly. "Oh, it's you," she said bitterly. "I'm sorry, you're interrupting something very important. Someone's dream is about to come true if they get through this next round of bullshit and manage to win some money. I swear it's all fixed though."

"Buffy..."

"Don't even start. I don't really give a crap." She stood up abruptly. "You lied to me Castiel. Just how long have I been stuck in this room anyway?"

"Not long. A couple of days.

"So what went down? And I know something did I...felt it."

"What do you mean?" He asked in surprise.

"I don't know what you did to me but I can't take this anymore. One more stunt like this and I'm out. I walk and it's all over. You can find someone else to help them ok?"

He nodded. "It was...Angel business Buffy. Sam and Dean were meddling in things that they shouldn't have been. Trying to stop things that shouldn't have been stopped."

"Yes I know. They had a big fight with Alastair and then they had to find that Anna girl's Grace and they couldn't find it because Uriel had it. And then you wanted to kill her but she managed to get back her Grace and then she disappeared I assume becoming an Angel again am I right?"

"How did you know all this?" he was astonished.

"I caught the whole show, very fascinating stuff. Well, I didn't catch everything. See, I seem to have developed a psychic link with Dean Winchester. It's not visions. Visions are very cryptic from what I know and they don't make sense and this was a whole big overload of information. Some things were blocked of course. Private things. I think when he got hot and heavy with Anna..." she went quiet for a moment not wanting to remember it. "Then it kind of turned off and I couldn't see anything more until the final showdown with all of you. It was better then TV I promise you that. So the question is...what did you do to me when you showed me those images of the brother's lives? Why am I connected to Dean and why do I see things from his point of view?"

"Buffy..." Castiel shook his head. "I just showed you what happened. I didn't affect your free will in anyway...we are not allowed to do that. I didn't do anything to you. Whatever you're experiencing is of your own making."

"But it's just so confusing. I'm not a witch and I don't have...magic magic powers you know? Just...slayer powers. I don't understand."

"I think this is something for you to figure out on your own Buffy," he said softly. But he didn't like where this conversation was going. If the slayer got too personally involved with either of the brothers in anyway then he was sure nothing good would come of it and that things would go badly.

"I will make it up to you. I'm going to take you to a friend of the Winchester's, Bobby and he will help you get your own form of transport. Then you must find the brothers and help them. They have another job coming up in Nebraska after the job they are involved with now. It will be at 2 acre farm that you will have to meet them."

"I'm going to find something you know," she muttered as she took his hand again. "Something to stop you using your powers on me. A charm, a spell or amulet. I will."

"If you do could you find one to stop Lucifer too?" Castiel said sarcastically. Buffy didn't answer him. He thought she was joking, that there wasn't such a thing possible but she was sure that anything was possible by now. She just had to find a way to find it. If only she could make contact with her friends somehow...when the time was right she would do. Even if they weren't talking if she was in trouble they would help her, she knew it. She just had to hide it from Castiel. But he seemed to know so much already and he had some of her powers. But she would find a way.

...

Bobby was undoubtedly surprised to see her and from the moment she met him she felt like she wanted to tell him everything. She knew he could probably help her find a way to shield herself from the Angels powers. That he could answer any of her questions. He reminded her of Giles and once again she grew sad for the memories of a life she could never have again. But all she told him was that she was intending to help Sam and Dean, that he could trust her and that she needed to buy a car.

After doing countless tests on her to see if she was a Demon or not, holy water, exorcism spells and various charms against evil, he agreed to help her. Especially when she showed him the money she was willing to pay for a car. Luckily Castiel had managed to stop at a random bank for her to draw out money.

It was a long, long drive to 2 Acre Farm and when she got there she was tired and grumpy and bored from no music. The car Bobby had sold her was old and she had paid way too much money for it and as soon as she could she was updating it so that it had a CD player. Or at least a radio or something!

As she pulled up onto the drive she saw the boy's trusty Impala in the drive and smiled slightly. Even though she barely knew them she...had actually missed them. She had missed Sam's sharp intellect and Dean's witty comebacks and sarcasm and she knew that if they could just work together they would make a fantastic team and could take on anything that came at them. They just had to get to that point first.

She walked slowly up the steps and thought oh great, creepy haunted house. Just what she needed.

It felt creepy when she walked inside and she wondered why this place was still for sale if someone had been murdered there like Cas had told her.

When she went upstairs she heard the unfamiliar noises of an EDF, a machine that was used to track ghosts and spirits and read supernatural activity. She had to get herself one of them and she should have thought to ask Bobby. She had to look the real deal. Oh well, she was sure she could get herself out of the awkward questions. She opened the door to what looked like a bedroom and had to smile at the shock and surprise that was on their faces when they turned round.

"Oh great," Dean muttered. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Dean..." Sam started, turning to calm his older brother down.

"Nice to see you too Dean, it really is," she was a bit hurt by his reaction at seeing her, but there was no way she was letting them know he had got to her. It wouldn't be very professional now would it?

"And haunted houses? Great stuff. Just what every girl wants on her Christmas list." Worst comeback of all time Buffy, she scolded herself. It wasn't even anywhere near Christmas.

"I was just in the area and heard about a murder that had happened here." Very lame and Dean seemed to be on to her.

"Just like you were in the area last time?" he questioned her.

"Guys, the needles all over the place," Sam pointed to the EDF and in an effort to distract them from the tension he turned to a cupboard and opened it.

"Oh no," Buffy turned away. "I didn't sign on for this," she continued. "I don't like anything to do with creepy dolls or clowns or anything like that at all. Didn't you see chucky? It always freaked me out."

Dean chuckled slightly. "I always thought it was hilarious. But this is very super disturbing all the same."

"Think it got left behind?" Sam asked them then, hearing something he turned to the window. "Uh oh," he muttered.

"I thought you said this place was still for sale?" Dean muttered.

"Apparently it's not," Sam whispered back.

"What are we going to tell them?" Buffy murmured.

"We'll go with the same old, same old." Dean told her.

"And what's that?"

"Gas leak right?" Sam nodded in agreement.

...

After questioning the neighbours they discovered all the signs of haunting, rustling sounds in the walls etc and as they drove back past the house they also discovered that the family had moved in after their warning s that had been given. Buffy got out of her car after parking behind the Impala and the brothers got out and joined her.

Dean cursed as they all stared up at the house. "That about sums it up," Buffy sighed. "You know in the movies this is never a good sign. Family moves into haunted house is pure suicide. Dumb blonde runs up the stairs when being chased by a psychotic killer when she should be trying to open windows or the front door of a house or finding weapons like a knife? Once again suicide."

"What now?" Dean asked.

"We could always tell them the truth," Sam suggested which got him a hit on the arm from Buffy and an I don't think so look from Dean.

"Ok, not really," Sam shook his head.

Suddenly a scream pierced the through the darkness around them and they all turned their attention back to the house.

"I told you," Buffy started running towards the front door. "Not good."

They managed to get through the door, being in the middle of nowhere it wasn't locked, which Buffy thought was a pretty stupid plan on the family's part. But she was here to save them not pick a fight about safety issues.

"We heard screams what's going on?" Sam asked the father. All the family was gathered downstairs and looked pretty scared. Well, the kids looked scared, the parents looked worried.

"Did you touch my daughter? Who are you guys? What do you want" the father asked angrily.

"What? No!" Dean protested in bewilderment.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Buffy asked. "We are just here to help!"

"It's not safe here," Sam started and Buffy realised that the truth was the only way out here. "Your family is in danger you have to get out now..."

That was when the lights went out and Buffy felt like screaming herself.

"Nobody move!" Dean ordered but the family were immediately freaking out and had started looking for their dog and had all run outside.

"We are not the bad guys here," Dean turned towards them all

"You need to get your family somewhere safe," Sam was trying to keep everyone calm but it wasn't working, especially when they reached their cars the tires were all slashed. They weren't going anywhere and on the walls outside were painted the words too late in red.

"The guns are gone," Sam exclaimed. "Everything's gone!"

"What kind of a ghost messes with a man's wheels!" Dean exclaimed in anger.

"Not really the point Dean," Buffy turned towards the girl who was screaming. "She's there. She was right there!"

"We need to get back inside," Dean told them all sternly.

"Are you crazy? We need to get the hell out of here!"

"In case you didn't notice we are now stranded. I would do as he says!" said Buffy.

Once inside the house, Dean drew a protective circle of salt in the main room. "As long as this circle remains unbroken we are all safe. Ghosts can't cross it," Dean was explaining to them all.

The father wasn't even buying any of this though.

"You hunt ghosts? Like in Scooby Doo?" The boy asked them and Buffy had to laugh.

The family was definitely having a hard time dealing with the supernatural and the next display of highly strung testosterone proved that. Ted made to punch Dean, but Dean was smarter then that. "I have a gun," Dean whispered to him fiercely. "And if you don't get your ass back in that circle..."

"Dude," Sam said to him quietly. "You don't have a gun. Are you cool now?"

Buffy rolled her eyes and was about to comment when they all heard a noise. "Everybody stay calm she's a ghost," said Dean. "She can't come into the circle."

But she kept walking slowly towards them and Buffy tensed ready for whatever happened. The girl stepped over the line. There was screaming and the family ran outside. The girl was going crazy slashing a knife at Dean and screaming. Buffy pushed Dean out of the way and reached up to grab the girls wrist before she struck her with the knife and kicked the girl in her stomach sending her flying across the room. "You're not a ghost, you're just a girl. A human girl!" Buffy whispered as the girl struggled to get up and walked towards them again.

"Hey!" Sam was there with a flash light that blinded the girl momentarily and gave Buffy a chance to make sure that Dean was alright and then make a run for it to see if the family where ok. They weren't the little boy, Danny was missing.

"How can he be missing?" Buffy asked, pretending to be slightly out of breath from the fight she had just had, to make it look more realistic that she didn't have any supernatural powers. She was inside kicking herself. If anything happened to that little boy...she could have taken out that girl easy. Knocked her out, killed her, but she couldn't. She wasn't allowed...and if anything happened that was it, she was telling the truth once and for all.

The events that followed next were shocking to Buffy. They found the little girls lair full of bones and then Ted had been killed. It was mainly her fault as she tried to explain to Dean on the way back to the rest of the family. If she hadn't been so stubborn and stayed with Ted she could have stopped it, instead she had gone down there with Dean because...and then she couldn't tell him why. Because, she didn't really know why. She just knew that had to be with him...but she had caused him more pain and hurt by not protecting the innocent Ted. Because although he had been a bit of an asshole he was innocent and hadn't deserved to die.

And it hadn't been great breaking the news to the family that they hadn't found Danny. And the information that Sam had found in a diary was very disturbing and made Buffy cringe.

When they finally found the place that Danny could be held prisoner Buffy had to use all her strength not to crawl in the space in the walls after Dean.

And when Danny crawled up the rope and was finally back with them she panicked when Dean didn't immediately follow. Sam eventually went down to find him and when they both came back up Buffy sighed in relief. "Did you get it?" she asked shakily.

"I got it," Dean nodded. "Mission accomplished."

Afterwards Buffy had to wonder why it was that Castiel had asked her to protect the Brother's. It wasn't as if they couldn't handle themselves, they clearly could.

They were both parked under a bridge and Sam handed Dean and her something to eat. She started eating her meal but Dean hesitated and Sam looked at him in surprise. "You ok?"

What followed next was the most heartbreaking confession that Buffy had ever heard about Dean's time in hell and she was shocked that he had told Sam with her there. Surely it was a moment for the two brothers to share alone?

He turned to her. "And the reason that you're allowed to hear me say this? Hell if I know except that you always seem to be here. Always in the same place we are and...I don't sense that you're evil. But you might as well know the real deal. About us and what we've been through. And you did help to save us back there. I guess we owe you"

Buffy swallowed a piece of her food. "Does this mean that you're...ok with us working together now?" She felt guilty and she didn't like it. She wanted so desperately to tell them the truth and she couldn't. But after Dean's confession she would find a way to tell them everything as soon as possible because she was terrible at lying and she was sure it was beginning to show. So she didn't ask if they trusted her yet she was sure the answer would be no. But Dean must have trust for her a little bit to tell her all of his time in hell. But she sure wasn't going to push the issue.

"Like I said, we owe you something. It might as well be this. Don't mean I trust you or even...never mind. But I guess strength in numbers could be the way to go."

She smiled. Well...that was a start to things.

"We should hit the road," Sam turned away from them both and went to get into the Impala.

"I'm sure you'll learn to like me soon enough Dean," She threw away the wrapping of her sandwich.

"We'll see," he actually smiled and that was when she knew what she was there for. Not to protect them physically but to protect their souls. Or rather...Dean's soul. To keep him from going completely insane from the pain and guilt that came with the job of being a hunter. That was what she was here for. And if that was the case she would have to let Dean fight alone and help protect people better then she had protected Ted. She couldn't let Dean think he was responsible for any more deaths. There could be no more mistakes like that ever.

Now she knew what she was really here to do the question was could she handle it? She hoped so, she really did.

TBC

By the way, Castiel won't always be this mean in this story it's just that was kind of how he was at the begining of season 4. Things will get better between Buffy and Castiel if she ever tells everyone the truth about who she is and if he ever lets her do that. Hopefully next update will be quicker then this one! Hope you all like it and I would love to hear what you're all thinking about this story so reviews please!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"_Why haven't we done this before?" she murmured as he brushed hair out of her eyes. His kisses started off soft and sweet his arms encircling her, but she knew that it was nothing compared to what was coming up as his kisses grew more urgent and his grip on her tightened. "Dean..." she whispered and she was nervous and excited all at the same time, making her feel like if she didn't get more of his attention then she would explode and that she could easily become addicted to Dean Winchester. "Buffy..." he suddenly pulled away from her leaving her feeling cold._

"_Hey...more kisses please..." she couldn't believe that he was leaving her like this._

"_Buffy you have to pay attention..."_

_And then there were screams all around her, high pitched and endless. It was night time and she couldn't see through a deep, almost impenetrable fog that whirled around her as she walked forward. Then the fog cleared suddenly and she could see the chaos and destruction that horrified her to the depths of her soul. _

_Vampires and Demons were everywhere, wreaking pain and fear and endless misery on their innocent victims. Draining their blood and snapping their necks. Werewolves were tearing their victims into shreds. There was fire everywhere too, hot and bright, almost blinding her with its intensity, destroying houses and taller buildings and churches. Everything was being destroyed, everything she was familiar with. It was the end of the world. Not a threat that she was faced with, that she knew she could stop if she thought about it long enough. This had happened. _

_She wanted to turn away and run but she couldn't. _

"_This is all of your fault you know," the voice startled her and she turned around, her eyes widening. _

"_Willow? Xander...what are you doing here?"_

_Willow looked different though. She looked very scary, her eyes and hair where black in colour and she was holding Xander's hand in a tight grip._

_Xander shook his head, his eyes filled with sadness. "Buffy, I'm so sorry for everything," he started to say but his voice was a whisper, she could barely hear him. "I'm so sorry for everything that's happened. It wasn't supposed to be like this...we were like family once and I've wanted so much for it to be like that again. Willow...please can't we just try to sort this out?"_

"_Shut your mouth Harris," she spat at him harshly. "Always trying to be the heart of the group, trying to be the hero. Buffy never needed us and in the end she thought she was better then us and that's why we wanted someone else to lead us. And it looks like we made the right decision in the end. Because although she saved us then look at her now. This is all because of her."_

"_Willow I always need you," she tried to reason with her friend, wishing that Willow could return to the way she once was and that things could be like Xander had said. That they could be family again. "I just want things back to the way they were can't we just put everything behind us..."_

"_It's too late for that," Willow was shaking her head in disbelief. "Lucifer has risen. I'm like this again because I have to defend myself somehow. And you didn't stop it when you could have done. You have to see through..."_

Buffy was startled awake by something...someone was shaking her awake. "Rise and shine princess," Oh. It was Dean. He could be such a douchebag sometimes it was bordering on annoying. She could swear that he only did this to piss her off though.

"What do you want?" she muttered, trying to pull up the covers to hide her eyes from the light. It was the first time in a long while that she was actually sleeping in a proper bed for once. The boys had dragged her across what felt like half the country on the lookout for new jobs and she had seen some strange things in her time with them. Even stranger then what she was used to. They had slowly gotten to know each other as best they could with all her secrets she was keeping from them.

"I think it's time you learned the word privacy," she grumbled. Sam and Dean where sharing a room across the hall and she had a room all to herself, lucky her, or so she thought. "And I'm not a princess. If I am then you're a toad."

He actually laughed when she said that. "We have work to do Buffy. You remember work don't you?"

She sighed and slowly sat up. "Ew please don't even look at me I have horrible bed hair." She cringed at the thought of what she would look like and then realised how bad that sounded. "And I just sounded like a shallow vain...princess. I'll be ready in a few minutes."

Dean nodded hoping that she was right and a few minutes wouldn't turn into a few hours. He wasn't used to travelling with a girl but he had had a few girlfriends in the past and he knew what to expect. Then he suddenly felt guilty for some reason and turned back to her.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. She had been about to get up when she realised her nightclothes where not exactly covering her up.

"Maybe I'm being too harsh on you," he thought out loud. "You have put up with a lot on the road with us and you...actually helped us out a lot. But we don't really get time off as much as I would want us to..."

"I said I'd be ready. If you let me get dressed."

He nodded and went back to his own room.

As she got dressed she realised she didn't really have that much variety clothes wise and that since she was in a big city for once and not stranded in the middle of nowhere on some hunt as was likely the case most days, then she would definitely have to go on a big shopping trip. And try to hide her purchases from the brothers, who liked to travel light!

And she was a girl of course. She knew it was serious business that she was on here, but the whole point of protecting Dean's sanity was that he should have some fun once in a while and depending on how big this case got then she was determined at the end of it that they actually have some fun. That they could see the other side of her that she pretty much kept hidden these days.

And she was so sick and tired of Dean flirting with every pretty girl in every town but he wouldn't even look once her way except to have a heart to heart talk if things got too heavy or ...cringe moment here...was he starting to think of her as a friend? Although it was good that he trusted her and they were friends she didn't want to get too friendly. He certainly didn't seem to take her at all seriously sometimes and made it his life mission to annoy her like he did to Sam. Even worse then a friend was he starting to think of her as...a sister? She couldn't let that happen so she had to show him...

Why was she even thinking like this? The meaning of the dream was clearly obvious to anyone with a brain. If she got involved with Dean she would loose concentration and that would definitely be of the bad. And if they could never be anything else surely a friend was better then nothing? But that dream kiss was something she wanted to be real. Also she would need her friends at some point wouldn't she? Why else would she dream of Xander and Willow. And Castiel would be angry for her breaking her promise...

Screw Castiel. She needed to have fun and if they were really going to drag her out of retirement that would be one of the conditions she made, the new rule.

They were in Sioux City in Iowa and found themselves watching a magician by the name of Jeb Dexter who was supposedly famous. Deans speech about people pretending to do magic but who were all a bunch of douchebags really looking to make money and not realising how much danger they were all really in surprised her.

Buffy agreed with Sam that she had always thought that magic had been cool when she was younger and she used to love watching people in the street doing magic and card tricks.

After learning that someone had been murdered and talking to a friend of his...his assistant it turned out to be they found themselves in a world of fake magic and magicians and she thought how this must be killing Dean and that he must be trying to hold back from saying something that he didn't mean which is why she volunteered him to go and do that fake FBI thing and interview The Incredible Jay because she knew he would be able to see right through her, although that was a lie. Sam and Dean hadn't seen right through her. Also it would give Dean practice at learning the word patience.

Sam had stayed in their hotel room and done research and she had taken the opportunity to do a bit of shopping. She knew if Dean ever found out he would kick her ass because she should be working. But at the moment she didn't care she had a perfect outfit if they ever got a chance to go out anywhere. As she went to open her door she felt a presence behind her and turned to find a young woman with brown hair and dressed in black leaving Sam and Dean's room. She felt herself stiffening as the girl looked her up and down. Buffy didn't know if she should say anything, she got a bad vibe from this girl. A very bad vibe and thought it may be best if she didn't know that she knew the Winchesters at all. But a part of her thought that she would be seeing the girl again.

"Sorry," the girl muttered and hurried away looking upset about something. This was something she would have to ask Dean about.

The rest of the case reminded Buffy of a movie that she had watched called The Prestige, what with all the magic tricks going wrong and magicians competing, That starred Hugh Jackman and of course when she had mentioned it to Dean he had responded with Hugh Jackman is Wolverine right? As if the actor didn't make any other films which had made Sam laugh out loud. She had felt so sorry for Jay in the end loosing his friends to magic but in the end magic wasn't all it was cracked up to be...she just had to ask Willow. It was hard the lessons you learned as you got older.

But in the end she did get her drink with Dean. Sam, being his broody self as usual had opted to go for a walk which Buffy found unsettling and she had told Dean.

"He'll cool down eventually...wait when did you get those clothes?"

She shrugged and led the way to a nearby bar that actually played some music. She was wearing some skinny jeans and a sparkly black top, nothing that special but compared to what she had been wearing lately it made her feel absolutely glamorous.

They actually had a reasonably good time. Dean wasn't being his usual flirty self with the bar girls and he actually talked to her and somehow made her feel like she was the only girl in the room...although she was certain it was all an act.

"We don't get to do this often," he sipped at his drink and frowned as the thought slipped out unintentionally.

"What do you mean?" she asked him curiously. She had never heard Dean talk like this.

"Have a normal life. Have fun."

She nodded in silent agreement. She just wished that she could tell him just how much they had in common. She would have to find a way to tell him soon.

It was nice just to talk and she realised that she had completely lost track of time and that the bar was nearly empty. It was then that she realised that Sam hadn't returned any of their txts or calls and he hadn't let them know where he was...

TBC


End file.
